When it comes to saving for retirement, many Americans have a lot of catching up to do. A GOBankingRates survey found that 42% of adults have less than $10,000 saved, which isn’t enough to live comfortably for even one year in retirement. Or is it?

If you have little to no savings and will likely have to rely on Social Security benefits, don’t assume that you won’t be able to have a comfortable retirement. There are places in the U.S. where you can get by without much in retirement savings.

To identify those places, GOBankingRates analyzed the 300 largest cities in the U.S. and narrowed the list to 150 cities with a large population of adults ages 65 and older. These cities were then ranked based on the following factors:

Average home price and home price changes over five years, sourced from Zillow

Whether the state taxes Social Security benefits, sourced from the AARP

Relative buying power based on the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis’ price parity index, which expresses state and metro price levels of goods as a percentage of the national level

County health index (where 1 is the healthiest), based on the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute’s county health rankings, which measure length of life and quality of life

Violent and property crime rates, sourced from Neighborhood Scout

Livability score, sourced from AreaVibes

On the whole, the best places to retire with no savings tend to be more affordable and relatively safe, and they have larger populations of older adults. The worst places for retirement tend to have a more expensive cost of living or other strikes against them, such as high crime rates.

50 Best Places To Retire With No Savings

Affordability is the key reason that these cities are the top 50 places to retire if you have no savings. Almost all have an average home price under $300,000 and score below 100 on the price parity index, which means the relative buying power in that city is better than the national average. Plus, retirees can hang on to more of their income in these places because Social Security income isn’t taxed.

Not only are these cities affordable places to live, but they’re also safe. Most experience fewer than 10 violent crimes per 1,000 residents and fewer than 50 property crimes per 1,000 residents.

50 Worst Places To Retire With No Savings

It likely comes as no surprise that most of the worst places to retire with no savings aren’t very affordable. Almost all of these cities exceed 100 on the price parity index, which means that the relative buying power is lower than the national average. And, the average home price in many of these cities is well above $300,000.

While some of the worst places to retire with no savings are comparable to the best places in terms of living costs, these cities didn’t rank among the top due to their high crime rates or other factors, such as Social Security income being taxed.

Methodology: GOBankingRates analyzed 150 cities to discover the best and worst places to retire if you have no savings. First, GOBankingRates took the top 300 U.S. cities in terms of population and found (1) the percentage of the population ages 65 and older, sourced from the United States Census Bureau’s 2017 American Community Survey’s five-year estimates. From there, the top 150 cities with the largest populations of people ages 65 and older were analyzed along the following factors: (2) average home price from January 2019 to June 2019, sourced from Zillow; (3) one-year percentage change in home prices; (4) five-year percentage change in home prices; (5) livability score, sourced from AreaVibes; (6) whether or not the state taxes Social Security benefits, sourced from the AARP; (7) price parity index, sourced from the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis’ 2017 Metro Statistical Area Price Parity Report; (8) county health index, sourced from the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute’s 2019 County Health Rankings, where every county was given a ranking that GOBankingRates then divided by the total number of counties in the state to produce an index number; (9) violent crime rate per 1,000 residents, sourced from Neighborhood Scout; and (10) property crime rate per 1,000 residents, sourced from Neighborhood Scout. These 10 factors were ranked and scored individually, with a lower score being best. The 10 scores were then combined to produce a cumulative final ranking. In order to stress the importance of affordability for retirees with no savings, factor No. 2 (average home price from January 2019 to June 2019) was given a score weighted five times as much as the other factors, factor No. 7 (price parity index) was weighted triple, factor No. 6 (taxes on Social Security) was weighted double, and factor No. 1 (percentage of population 65 and older) was weighted 1 1/2 times. All data used to conduct this study was compiled and verified on Aug. 15, 2019.

About the Author

Cameron Huddleston is an award-winning journalist with more than 18 years of experience writing about personal finance. Her work has appeared in Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Business Insider, Chicago Tribune, Fortune, MSN, USA Today and many more print and online publications. She also is the author of Mom and Dad, We Need to Talk: How to Have Essential Conversations With Your Parents About Their Finances.

U.S. News & World Report named her one of the top personal finance experts to follow on Twitter, and AOL Daily Finance named her one of the top 20 personal finance influencers to follow on Twitter. She has appeared on CNBC, CNN, MSNBC and “Fox & Friends” and has been a guest on ABC News Radio, Wall Street Journal Radio, NPR, WTOP in Washington, D.C., KGO in San Francisco and other personal finance radio shows nationwide. She also has been interviewed and quoted as an expert in The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, MarketWatch and more.

She has an MA in economic journalism from American University and BA in journalism and Russian studies from Washington & Lee University.

When it comes to saving for retirement, many Americans have a lot of catching up to do. A GOBankingRates survey found that 42% of adults have less than $10,000 saved, which isn’t enough to live comfortably for even one year in retirement. Or is it?

If you have little to no savings and will likely have to rely on Social Security benefits, don’t assume that you won’t be able to have a comfortable retirement. There are places in the U.S. where you can get by without much in retirement savings.

To identify those places, GOBankingRates analyzed the 300 largest cities in the U.S. and narrowed the list to 150 cities with a large population of adults ages 65 and older. These cities were then ranked based on the following factors:

Average home price and home price changes over five years, sourced from Zillow

Whether the state taxes Social Security benefits, sourced from the AARP

Relative buying power based on the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis’ price parity index, which expresses state and metro price levels of goods as a percentage of the national level

County health index (where 1 is the healthiest), based on the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute’s county health rankings, which measure length of life and quality of life

Violent and property crime rates, sourced from Neighborhood Scout

Livability score, sourced from AreaVibes

On the whole, the best places to retire with no savings tend to be more affordable and relatively safe, and they have larger populations of older adults. The worst places for retirement tend to have a more expensive cost of living or other strikes against them, such as high crime rates.

1. 50 Best Places To Retire With No Savings

Affordability is the key reason that these cities are the top 50 places to retire if you have no savings. Almost all have an average home price under $300,000 and score below 100 on the price parity index, which means the relative buying power in that city is better than the national average. Plus, retirees can hang on to more of their income in these places because Social Security income isn’t taxed.

Not only are these cities affordable places to live, but they’re also safe. Most experience fewer than 10 violent crimes per 1,000 residents and fewer than 50 property crimes per 1,000 residents.

52. 50 Worst Places To Retire With No Savings

It likely comes as no surprise that most of the worst places to retire with no savings aren’t very affordable. Almost all of these cities exceed 100 on the price parity index, which means that the relative buying power is lower than the national average. And, the average home price in many of these cities is well above $300,000.

While some of the worst places to retire with no savings are comparable to the best places in terms of living costs, these cities didn’t rank among the top due to their high crime rates or other factors, such as Social Security income being taxed.

Methodology: GOBankingRates analyzed 150 cities to discover the best and worst places to retire if you have no savings. First, GOBankingRates took the top 300 U.S. cities in terms of population and found (1) the percentage of the population ages 65 and older, sourced from the United States Census Bureau’s 2017 American Community Survey’s five-year estimates. From there, the top 150 cities with the largest populations of people ages 65 and older were analyzed along the following factors: (2) average home price from January 2019 to June 2019, sourced from Zillow; (3) one-year percentage change in home prices; (4) five-year percentage change in home prices; (5) livability score, sourced from AreaVibes; (6) whether or not the state taxes Social Security benefits, sourced from the AARP; (7) price parity index, sourced from the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis’ 2017 Metro Statistical Area Price Parity Report; (8) county health index, sourced from the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute’s 2019 County Health Rankings, where every county was given a ranking that GOBankingRates then divided by the total number of counties in the state to produce an index number; (9) violent crime rate per 1,000 residents, sourced from Neighborhood Scout; and (10) property crime rate per 1,000 residents, sourced from Neighborhood Scout. These 10 factors were ranked and scored individually, with a lower score being best. The 10 scores were then combined to produce a cumulative final ranking. In order to stress the importance of affordability for retirees with no savings, factor No. 2 (average home price from January 2019 to June 2019) was given a score weighted five times as much as the other factors, factor No. 7 (price parity index) was weighted triple, factor No. 6 (taxes on Social Security) was weighted double, and factor No. 1 (percentage of population 65 and older) was weighted 1 1/2 times. All data used to conduct this study was compiled and verified on Aug. 15, 2019.

About the Author

Cameron Huddleston is an award-winning journalist with more than 18 years of experience writing about personal finance. Her work has appeared in Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Business Insider, Chicago Tribune, Fortune, MSN, USA Today and many more print and online publications. She also is the author of Mom and Dad, We Need to Talk: How to Have Essential Conversations With Your Parents About Their Finances.

U.S. News & World Report named her one of the top personal finance experts to follow on Twitter, and AOL Daily Finance named her one of the top 20 personal finance influencers to follow on Twitter. She has appeared on CNBC, CNN, MSNBC and “Fox & Friends” and has been a guest on ABC News Radio, Wall Street Journal Radio, NPR, WTOP in Washington, D.C., KGO in San Francisco and other personal finance radio shows nationwide. She also has been interviewed and quoted as an expert in The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, MarketWatch and more.

She has an MA in economic journalism from American University and BA in journalism and Russian studies from Washington & Lee University.

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